What's Your Favorite Scary Movie
by Charlie'sLostVampire
Summary: What started off as a rather over-the-top Halloween prank late at Stark Industries ends in disaster.
1. Scream

Pepper put up with a lot of Tony's irritating obsessions. Quantum physics? It was a bit necessary when dating a philanthropist. But it got annoying when he'd shout, "Helium! It needs more helium!" instead of her name during sex.

Shopping? Of course she put up with that; she was a shopaholic herself. But her idea of a rather outlandish purchase was a $900 pair of Jimmie Choos. Tony's idea of an _average_ purchase was an Italian sports car that would just end up in storage.

Then, of course, there was porn. Tony had no shame in his racy obsession; he didn't even try to hide it from her. Pepper only hoped he would never get his hands on the adult film she had shot to pay for her third year of university.

But, aside from the obvious, Tony's most annoying obsession was with horror films. Had he not inherited Stark Industries from Howard, he probably would have breezed through film school and become a director that could rival Spielberg. But, this particular obsession Pepper had known nothing about. She'd had to learn about it the hard way.

The _very_ hard way.

It was late. Pepper had stayed at the office to finish up some paperwork that seemed to be taking forever, as most usually did in this company. It wasn't like Tony was much help...

The phone rang.

Furrowing her brow, Pepper reached to answer it. There shouldn't be any calls being forwarded to her office now; it was far too late. First they had to reach her assistant, Ginny, who would put them through to her.

Ginny went home nearly four hours ago; the entire building was deserted.

"Stark Industries, CEO's office," Pepper stated formally when she answered.

"_Hello?_"

The voice was unfamiliar; a new client whom she had yet to speak to, perhaps? It had a husky tone, and seemed slightly hushed.

"Who is this?" Pepper asked with a frown, glancing at the glass office door. The corridor beyond it was dark, void and empty.

"_Who is this?_" the man echoed, and Pepper shifted in her seat nervously, absentmindedly reaching out for the ferris wheel-like ornament that irritated Tony so much.

"Sir, I think you have the wrong number," she stated as she picked up the heavy object, still baffled at how the call even managed to get through to her office phone.

"_I must_," he said, and the coolness of his voice only seemed to make Pepper even more nervous.

"Well, no harm done," she insisted, managing to keep her voice even as she hung up the phone before the strange man could get another word in.

Just as she began to go back to her work and forget about the incident, the phone rang again, and she jumped, releasing a quiet cry. Swallowing roughly, she said to herself that she just wouldn't answer, but the phone persistently kept ringing, leaving her no choice but to pick up. She'd go crazy with fear otherwise.

"Hello…?"

"_It's rude to hang up on someone. You should know better, Miss Potts._"

Squeezed her eyes shut as she clutched her makeshift weapon, Pepper shook her head. "What do you want? How do you know my name? Who gave you this number?"

The chilling voice laughed, and Pepper clenched her jaw. Who _was_ this person?

"_I want to talk, Virginia. Won't you talk to me?_"

"No," she choked out, "I'm a very busy woman-"

"_Come on; don't you want to play my game?_"

"No!" she snapped, shaking her head. "I've had enough of this! Go harass someone else!"

She moved to hang up the phone, and jumped when she heard the man shouting.

"_You hang up that phone and it will be the last thing you do, you little bitch! I'll cut you like a fish!_"

Her hand shaking as she gripped it, she slowly brought it back to her ear, shaking her head as terrified anger built within her. "Listen here, asshole; I don't know what you're playing at, but my boyfriend happens to be _Iron Man_. When I tell him what you did, he'll trace this call and kick the shit out of you!"

Most people would have hung up. The voice just laughed yet again, bitter and cold. "How will he trace the call if there's no one to tell him it happened?"

Pepper's face turned about three shades paler. "What…?"

"_You see, Miss Potts; my game is a very important one. Call it… advanced Trivial Pursuit. Answer correctly and you move on. Answer incorrectly… you die._"

Jumping to her feet at his startling words, the dainty woman lost her grip on the ornament and it fell to the floor with a clatter of steel and wire.

"No… leave me alone, you psychopath!" she whimpered, buzzing for building security. It was no good; the system was offline.

"_Having some trouble calling for help?_" the cruel voice purred, and Pepper cussed.

"What do you _want? _Money, Stark blueprints, revenge?"

"_Your blood,_" he stated darkly and Pepper glanced toward the window as she shook with fear.

"_You can't escape through that window, Virginia; it's a fifty story drop._"

Pepper froze, clutching the phone more tightly to her ear. "How did you know I was looking at the window…?"

"_Oh, simple Virginia; you're a smart woman. I'd have thought it was obvious…_" He was quiet for a moment before he muttered menacingly, "_I know because I'm looking at you now_."

Uncertain of what else to do, Pepper dashed across the room and turned the polished silver lock, quickly backing away again, terrified of how close this insane man really was.

"How did you get in here? Where the hell is Happy?"

"_You mean Harold Hogan?_" the voice asked as Pepper shut her crystal-like blue eyes, dreading the answer she would receive. Happy would never let anyone get so close to her; he had to be hurt, or worse. "_What is it with your boyfriend and nicknames, huh?_"

"Where is he?" Pepper shrieked with her nerves completely shot; bad things had happened to her since she started working for Tony, many of them involving psychos like this guy. But none of them had ever managed to take things so far before…

The voice just laughed in that same cold tone. "_Who, Pepper? Harold… or Tony?_"

Pepper's eyes snapped open at his words.

"What in God's name did you do to Tony?" she choked out almost angrily, and he emitted another chuckle. What the fuck was so _funny?_

"_Oh; nothing… yet. His fate depends on how well you play the game, Virginia._"

"How do I know he's even with you?" Pepper snapped, and her head jerked up when the lights in the hallway flicked on.

"_Look for yourself._"

Slowly, Pepper approached the glass door and barely contained her cry when she saw Tony Stark, her Tony, tied to a chair at the end of the hall; too far away for her to reach fast enough to free him and escape. Horror sank into the pit of her stomach at the sobering realization.

"_Ready to play my little game now, Virginia?_"

"You're sick…" she choked out. If she refused to play, she would die. So would Tony, most likely. Who this mystery man would kill first was the question. Who _was_ he? How did he manage to capture _Tony Stark?_

"Fine," she said finally, knowing it was their only, slim, chance. "Fine, I'll play your stupid game. Just don't hurt him…"

"_Well, that depends on how well you answer. Tell me, Virginia; do you like… scary movies?_"

Swallowing harshly, Pepper bit back tears and shook her head. "No…"

The voice over the phone tutted; "_I pity poor Anthony, then. You won't be very good at this game…_"

Pressing her fingertips to the glass of the door, tears flooded Pepper's blue eyes as they met Tony's wide brown ones. He looked positively panicked, and Pepper was on the verge of a breakdown. She'd never had one of those before; she was too composed…

"Please…" she sobbed. "Please, just don't hurt him… He's all I have…"

"_Question number one,_" the voice said smugly, ignoring her hysteria, "_who was the killer in Nightmare on Elm Street?_"

Taking a shaky breath to clear her head, Pepper wracked her brain for the answer. She should know this; it was a classic, even if she didn't watch horror movies. "Freddy Krueger…"

"_Very good, Virginia,_" the voice praised, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to do her much good. "_Question number two; what was used for fake blood in Psycho?_"

"Chocolate syrup!" Pepper cried, choking back sobs. She _knew_ this. "It was chocolate syrup…! The movie was black and white, so viewers couldn't tell the difference between the color of the chocolate and blood!"

"_Yes!_" the voice said harshly, and Pepper cried harder when his voice was nearly a cackle. He knew she couldn't keep this up forever… "_Final question…_"

Pepper sagged with relief. They would be okay…

"_How many knives were on the glove of Freddy Krueger?_"

"Five!" she said with a whimper, reaching for the door lock. It had to be five… what else could it be? Oh, God, what if it wasn't…? "It was five…! Right…?"

The silence on the other end made Pepper's heart stop. No, no, no…

"_Wrong answer…_"

Screaming, Pepper fell to her knees in a mass of hysterical sobs when a masked, cloaked figure darted out from one of the offices and slashed at Tony's stomach. Blood began to seep through his white shirt, and he gave her a last helpless look before his head lolled forward.

"No…!" she screeched, trembling with horror. That didn't happen… Tony wasn't… _he wasn't_… wasn't… "Tony…!"

The cry of his name caught in her throat when the man turned to face her, its terrifying white, ghostly mask the only thing she could focus on as her fight or flight instincts took over.

"No…" she whimpered as she leapt to her feet when it started toward her. Shaking violently, she stumbled back across the office and began searching desperately through the desk for the object that had awarded her the name she bore so proudly;

Pepper spray. Pepper Potts wasn't going to let the urge to take flight win out; she wasn't going to go down without a fight. This motherfucker would pay for killing the only person she had…

Panicking with anger when she heard the door being rattled, Pepper shook her head and searched more frantically. "No, no, no; it has to _be_ here…"

She didn't remember when she'd dropped the phone. Probably when she'd saw this fiend slice the man she loved open. A scream escaped her when the glass door shattered and she saw the phone skid across the floor as the demonic figure burst in. She thanked God when her fingers found the little yellow canister at just the right moment.

"Pepper…" the husky voice muttered, and her blue eyes narrowed as he removed his mask that mirrored Edvard Munch's _The Scream_.

"Pepper _spray_, asshole!"

"Happy Hallow- _argharhh…!_"

The playful greeting was cut off with an infuriated howl as her attacker's eyes burned, and Pepper grinned victoriously.

"You messed with the wrong CEO," she stated as she kicked the knife away, frowning in confusion when the blade bent like rubber. A fake…? But she'd seen him kill Tony with it… There was _blood_…

Her eyes snapped back down to the man who was howling on the floor, turning pale when his howls turned into deep, monstrous growls and his flesh began to ripple.

"Bruce…?"

Out in the hallway, Tony's head snapped back up at all the shouting that could be heard in the office, and he fought to break the binds keeping him in the chair.

Banner hulking out wasn't a part of their ultimate Halloween prank.

And he couldn't get free to stop it.

"_Fucking hell_… Pepper!"

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** Note: **Anything that seems familiar in this fic was taken from the Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson movie _Scream_; this is why I shouldn't be allowed to watch horror movies in my spare time. Unless, of course, you liked it; then, I guess, it was a good thing! I plan on continuing this soon, so please leave a review with your thoughts!


	2. Terror

Tony couldn't remember a time when he'd been this afraid. Not when he was flying a nuclear missile through a portal out of the planet; not when his arc reactor was poisoning him; not even when he'd been informed that it was now his job to run Stark Industries after his father's death.

The only times he'd ever come close to being _this_ afraid had occurred only twice in the past. The first time had been when Obadiah stole his arc reactor for profit and then informed him that he was going to kill Pepper. The second was when he and Rhodey figured out the Hammer Droids were all going to blow, and he knew that Pepper had absolutely no idea.

Both had been times when he had feared that he'd failed to protect the one thing he couldn't live without.

This was another of those times.

"Tony, I'm sorry. I thought I had a handle on it-"

"I don't want to hear it, Banner," he snapped as he paced around anxiously outside the ER. Bruce was lingering by the seats, watching him pace with a guilty expression. He had lost it; he'd hulked out in the middle of Pepper's office and quite literally smashed her. The floor beneath her had collapsed from the force, and she'd landed on one of the cold, metal lab tables below.

Only after the damage was done did he return to his normal state, to discover Tony writhing against his binds in the hall, his eyes wild with fury and panic. When they discovered Pepper's limp, almost lifeless body downstairs, Bruce Banner had to opportunity to see something only two other people had ever seen; Tony Stark cry.

Before Bruce got the chance to gather his thoughts and formulate an apology so they could call an ambulance, Tony had fired up the suit and blasted through the window with Pepper clutched close in his arms, leaving him fumbling for words, alone, in the dark, bloody room.

Now both men were waiting for a doctor to deliver them news on how she was, if she'd be okay… if she would _survive_. Not many people got attacked by the Hulk and walked away.

"She pepper-sprayed me!" Bruce cried desperately, and Tony whirled on him and threw his hands into the air.

"Because you were going to _stab_ her!"

"This entire thing was your idea!" Bruce snapped in retaliation, and Tony paled at the truth in his words. It was only a joke. She was supposed to get pissed, like she normally did when he played pranks on her, and then maybe she wouldn't talk to him for a few days. But she'd come back; she always did.

She wasn't supposed to get hurt.

"I'm such a fucking _idiot_," Tony hissed with self-loathing, shaking his head as he pulled at his messy hair for the umpteenth time.

Uncertain of what else to say, Bruce took a seat and watched Tony continue to pace. The man wouldn't stop until he knew Pepper was okay; that was for certain. But a small twinge of worry vibrated through Bruce as a thought occurred to him.

What if Pepper _wasn't_ okay? He hadn't known Tony Stark for very long; roughly about a year; but there was one thing he knew for certain about the billionaire; he couldn't function without Pepper Potts. Not just because she'd been his assistant for so long that she practically tied his shoes for him, and not because she was the CEO of his company, but because he _loved_ her. There was no doubt in Bruce's mind that Pepper was the only person in the world that Tony would literally do anything for, in a heartbeat. He'd probably give up his own life if it meant she'd get better.

When the double doors to the ER swung open, Tony was at the doctor's side inhumanly fast; literally. He'd been so worried when they arrived at the hospital that he hadn't even taken a single second away from thinking about Pepper to remove the iron suit, and the doctor blinked at him in surprise. The only thing that wasn't shiny and unbearably red was Tony's head, for he'd removed the helmet upon arriving.

"How is she?" he asked anxiously, and the doctor took a breath before speaking.

"Miss Potts is stable. There were a fair amount of blood transfusions necessary, and the amount of broken bones was startling. Luckily there was no spinal damage," the doctor, a small, balding man who was likely in his late forties, said.

Had he not been clothed in a heavy suit of metal, Tony would have sagged in relief. "I need to see her," he stated, glancing over the doctor's shoulder at the hallway behind him.

"Mr. Stark," the doctor attempted to say in a calm tone. "She needs her rest. I think it would be best if you just went home for the night-"

"Like hell!" Tony snapped, and Bruce leapt up from his seat when he pointed his repulsor beam at the doctor. "Let me see her!"

"Tony!" Bruce snapped, grabbing his arm and shaking his head. "What would Pepper say if she saw you doing that?"

Slowly, reluctantly, Tony lowered his hand, but his eyes were still narrowed. Before either of the men beside him could blink, he had shot down the hallway, papers flying everywhere as he flew himself down the hallways in search of the redhead he so desperately needed to see.

The doctor nearly had to have had a heart attack when Iron Man flew himself past him, and Bruce had to reach over to steady the fumbling man, shaking his head.

"_Damn it, Tony…_"

… . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . …

When he finally found her room, Tony's heart squeezed at the sight of her. Shutting the door and bending the metal frame easily so no one could come barging in, he approached her bedside and hesitantly sat down and examined the state she was in.

The amount of wires and tubes connected to his girl were terrifying. The only thing keeping him sane was the faint beeping that signaled her heart was still beating. She had oxygen tubes in her nose, wires from the monitor attached to her chest beneath the tacky blue hospital gown, and two IVs connected to her arms. One was feeding blood into her system, the other keeping her hydrated.

She was also pretty banged up. Her skin, normally flawless and creamy, was scratched and bruised, bandaged and casted. He hated even thinking about how much pain she had to be in. Reaching over, he took her dainty hand in his between cool metal fingers, bringing it to his lips and kissing each knuckle tenderly.

"I'm so sorry, Pep," he whispered, his voice shaking slightly as tears flooded his eyes. "This was my fault…"

She didn't wake when he spoke, and he watched her sleeping face with desperation. He needed her to open her eyes. He needed to see those scolding, twinkling blue hues again… Even if she hated him for the stupid prank, he needed her to wake up…

"It was such a stupid idea…" he stated, continuing to speak to her on the off-chance that she could hear him. "You weren't ever supposed to actually get hurt."

Leaning forward, he pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead, grazing his metallic fingertips down her cheek. "You've got to wake up, Potts…" he said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut to fight back the tears, losing the battle as one dripped down onto her cheek. "You've got to wake up so you can kick my ass with your pointy shoes for being such a moron…"

… . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . …

Everything hurt. Her head, her back, her limbs; it felt like she'd been crushed in the middle of a bus collision. She couldn't remember much… She knew that she'd been working late when she'd received a phone call from some crazy bastard… He was going to kill her, and he _did_ kill Tony… Oh, not Tony…

Tony Stark was dead. She'd watched, useless, from her office door as his insides got slashed. Then the killer had come to get her… and everything after that was blank.

Was she dead? If so, the afterlife wasn't at all what she'd expected, nor what she'd hoped for. There was no light, no angels, no _Tony_… just inky blackness. But it wasn't completely silent. She could hear a quiet, muffled beeping, along with a voice that was slowly becoming clearer as she regained consciousness.

"…_pointy shoes… moron…_"

"Tony…?" she whispered, her voice coming out rough and broken as she attempted to force her eyes open. There was a slight jolt beside her as though someone had just leapt up, and she could feel lips pressing to her face repeatedly, not sparing a single inch of skin.

"_Pep… oh, thank God…_"

Finally managing to get her blue eyes open, she gazed weakly up at him, tears pouring from her eyes. She'd been so sure he was dead… Yet here he was, sitting beside her on a hospital bed, clad in one of his Iron Man suits as he quite literally covered her in kisses.

"You're alive…?" she asked shakily, and he nodded as he brushed his cool, metal thumb over her cheek to collect her falling tears.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine…" he assured her with a nod, unable to believe she was asking about _him_ at the moment. She was the one who was attacked by a Hulk… "How do you feel?"

"I've been better…" she said shakily, still unable to grasp that he was really here. She'd _seen_ him get stabbed. She'd _watched_ him die, yet here he was, right as rain… "How…?"

Shaking his head, he leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her lips, wanting nothing more than to forget this night ever happened. He should have just stayed at the Miami mansion and handed out candy like she'd asked him to…

Pulling back slowly, he gazed down at her for some sort of reaction, only earning the same horribly confused expression.

"How are you alive?" she choked out, shaking her head. Her tears were starting again, and guilt ate away at Tony's insides. This was _his fault_…

"Banner got a lid on it before he could come at me, too," he said, wishing that Bruce had gone at him instead. He was the one who deserved to be laid up in that bed, not Pepper…

"Bruce?" she said shakily with confusion, clutching the blankets beneath her. "What do you mean…? Why was Bruce there? Tony, I watched you… watched you die…!"

His head snapped up when the steady beeping of the monitor began to increase, and he shook his head at her, cupping her cheek. "Pep, calm down. You need rest…"

"You were dead, Tony!" she sobbed, shaking her head as she came apart. "There was blood, and a knife…! Some crazy asshole killed you!"

Tony froze at her words, slowly meeting her eyes. "Pepper… what's the last thing you remember?"

"The killer," she whimpered, reaching up to clasp the hand that was on her cheek. "He was coming at me down the hall… then there's nothing…"

_No wonder she hasn't gotten out of bed to kick my ass yet_, Tony thought, his eyes slowly widening. _She has no idea about the prank. _

The question was… should he tell her, and risk her hating him forever? Or… keep it a secret?


End file.
